This CCTV footage shows why you must keep an eye on your luggage at the airport.

Police have released a warning to passengers to help them guard against opportunistic criminals.

The advice is to always keep your bags where you can see them.

Thousands of holidaymakers will be heading off to destinations around the world from the North East’s airports over the festive period.

Take a look at how two brazen thieves stole thousands of pounds worth of belongings from the arrivals lounge at Heathrow.

Still from CCTV footage of airport theft released by Metropolitan Police (Image: Metropolitan Police)

PC Tom Blair, of the Metropolitan Police’s Aviation Policing Crime Squad, said: “It’s very easy to be distracted at a busy airport but you can help keep your luggage safe whether you’re in the UK or abroad by always keeping it on you or within your line of sight.

“If you are carrying a large quantity of cash, keep it on you.

“If you must pack it in luggage, then spread it out between multiple bags.”

Gissella Caceres Diaz (left) and Flores Valenzuela, a pair of thieves who were jailed for £25,000 worth of airport thefts (Image: Metropolitan Police)